By James Regan
SYDNEY, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A deal to sell the Moly-Cop division of troubled Australian steel group Arrium Ltd ARI.AX could be sealed in the next 24 hours, a source close to the matter said on Thursday.
Moly-Cop, which makes steel balls to grind ore, operates mostly in the United States and Latin America, and had been excluded until now from Arrium's restructuring of its steel and iron ore mining businesses in Australia.
"It is safe to say a deal is imminent and could be completed within 24 hours," the source said.
The sale price is said to be between A$1.5 billion ($1.15 billion) and A$1.6 billion, and narrowed to private equity companies such as KPS Capital Partners or American Industrial Partners, according to the Australian Financial Review newspaper.
Arrium's advisers - Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and KordaMentha - and its lenders are also weighing an initial public offering alternative, which is underwritten by three investment banks and institutional investors, it said.
KPS Capital is described on its website as private equity limited partnerships with about $5.5 billion of assets under management focused on making controlling equity investments in manufacturing industries in transition.
American Industrial Partners invests in industrial companies with operations in the United States and Canada.
A meeting of Arrium's creditors is scheduled for Friday in Sydney.